Bearded dragon or rankin dragon?

tizmegz · Mar 13, 2017

Hi guys so I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts to weather my dragon is a beardie or rankins I haven't had a beardie from a baby before so I'm not used to there rate of growth but he or she doesn't seem to be growing much I got the dragon from a pet shop (independent) and they thought it was around 7 weeks old don't know how far off they could have been plus on top of that we have had her/him for a month she/he has shed once but doesn't seem to eat as much like 6 crickets max and maybe a few baby shed meal worms a day sometimes less doesn't touch the salad every thing is right temp wise and that in the tank and uvb etc was more active when we fist got it but just seems to bask a lot more than anything although it did used to climb plants right to the top on the cool side a lot before I took them out I found the crickets were hiding everywhere so keeping it simple is best at the mo any thoughts would be great I'll attach some picks really tiny

tizmegz · Mar 13, 2017

Also I have been giving baths maybe twice a week and occasional mists outside of the tank to keep him/her hydrated coz he/she looks a bit wrinkly and doesn't seem to drink from the bowl but will drink a little when the drops are on his/her nose

CooperDragon · Mar 13, 2017

She looks like a young standard dragon (central) to me based on head shape and spikes. Maybe a couple of months old. It's not unusual for her to ignore salad but keep offering it. Also keep offering bugs a couple of times per day. Just offer a couple at a time and remove them if she isn't interested. You may also want to try other feeders like silk worms or black soldier fly larvae and see if she's interested in those. Her appetite will fluctuate and likely increase once she's settled in and gets near a growth spurt. Just keep offering and she'll eventually get hungry.

tizmegz · Mar 13, 2017

Ok thanks for the reply!

kingofnobbys · Mar 13, 2017

tizmegz":3fnkv6zz said:
Ok thanks for the reply!

Yep it's a central hatchling.

Advice 1 ---- ditch the mesh hammock.... they are dangerous for beardies as they all too easily get their claws snagged by the netting and can do themselves very serious claw, finger, toe, foot, arm, shoulder or hip injuries while trying to free themselves.

Advice 2 ---- ditch the current bedding (looks like it is full of stones and pebbles small enough to be swallowed ===> extremely dangerous for a hatchling if they swallow anything indigestible and which they can't pass with their poo.... a horrible way to die.

Advice 3 ---- ditch round dial style thermometer - they are so inaccurate as to be useless. better off using some of these http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aquarium-LCD-Electronic-Digital-Thermometer-Fish-Tank-Water-Detector-Practica-BU/252762165947?_trksid=p2385738.c100677.m4598&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908110712%26meid%3D6ac464a2a1b24339be32c744b2ff5cf9%26pid%3D100677%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D201577608563 which are good +/- 1oC and who run for years on the little button batteries inside them.

Advice 4 ---- invest in a set of digital kitchen scales (the flat ones) , best if they have a resolution of about 0.1g and a max of 1000g. Weigh him weekly and chart his growth (weight each week).

kingofnobbys · Mar 13, 2017

tizmegz":335w2m8y said:
Also I have been giving baths maybe twice a week and occasional mists outside of the tank to keep him/her hydrated coz he/she looks a bit wrinkly and doesn't seem to drink from the bowl but will drink a little when the drops are on his/her nose

bathing beardies regularly is totally unnecessary ....

they only need bathing
>>> if they have soiled themselves
>>> if it's extremely hot
>>> if they are slightly impacted (with tummy rubs)
>>> if they have an open injury than needs regular dilute betadiene washes to prevent infection

Misting is OK to get water into a hatchling as is dripping water on their snout. Mostly they get sufficient hydration from their live insects and greens and grated vegs.

tizmegz · Mar 14, 2017

Ok points taken I did do a lot of research after buying and already heard of the points u made my main concern was the substrate but dragon seems to be pooping fine the reason for the baths was because I didn't want him to get impacted and I wasn't sure if he was getting enough water from his food as he has been on/off eating, I don't have a dial thermometer I have digitals one in cool end and one on basking spot and a thermostat that controls the heat my heat is spot on at the mo it's reading 83f cool end and 104f basking it does go up and down slightly buy a couple of degrees he has a uvb that reaches the whole length of the tank it's an Arcadia 10% I have read the t5 12% are better might give it ago next time also I have scales and he only weighs 15g I thought maybe he wasn't growing at the correct rate but I'm not sure like I said he is not that fussed by food I try him 2-3 times a day and sometimes he will eat 4-5 crickets a day and sometimes he won't the crickets are the correct size no bigger than the space between his eyes... etc and I dust them with a calci/multi vit powder I am thinking about maybe getting some repti carpet instead of sand I am well aware it's an issue but have read mixed reviews with some dragons being perfectly fine on sand I will however most likely do it anyway for peace of mind also he loves his hammock he never gets snagged in it unless I pick him up he clings on I am very care full and he has all of his toes and nails it's actually screwed to the Viv and he goes on that more than anything else as it's almost bare because I took most things out to aid in him catching crickets however I will keep an eye I did try feeding him in a tub but he freaked out and didn't like it so I just keep offering in his Viv now any advise is apreshiated I will always try my hardest to give the best care I can the lack of appetite is mostly worrying as I have read some dragons eat 30+ crickets a day but he is still alive after a little over a month so can't be that bad?

kingofnobbys · Mar 14, 2017

tizmegz":209du2d9 said:
Ok points taken I did do a lot of research after buying and already heard of the points u made my main concern was the substrate but dragon seems to be pooping fine the reason for the baths was because I didn't want him to get impacted and I wasn't sure if he was getting enough water from his food as he has been on/off eating, I don't have a dial thermometer I have digitals one in cool end and one on basking spot and a thermostat that controls the heat my heat is spot on at the mo it's reading 83f cool end and 104f basking it does go up and down slightly buy a couple of degrees he has a uvb that reaches the whole length of the tank it's an Arcadia 10% I have read the t5 12% are better might give it ago next time also I have scales and he only weighs 15g I thought maybe he wasn't growing at the correct rate but I'm not sure like I said he is not that fussed by food I try him 2-3 times a day and sometimes he will eat 4-5 crickets a day and sometimes he won't the crickets are the correct size no bigger than the space between his eyes... etc and I dust them with a calci/multi vit powder I am thinking about maybe getting some repti carpet instead of sand I am well aware it's an issue but have read mixed reviews with some dragons being perfectly fine on sand I will however most likely do it anyway for peace of mind also he loves his hammock he never gets snagged in it unless I pick him up he clings on I am very care full and he has all of his toes and nails it's actually screwed to the Viv and he goes on that more than anything else as it's almost bare because I took most things out to aid in him catching crickets however I will keep an eye I did try feeding him in a tub but he freaked out and didn't like it so I just keep offering in his Viv now any advise is apreshiated I will always try my hardest to give the best care I can the lack of appetite is mostly worrying as I have read some dragons eat 30+ crickets a day but he is still alive after a little over a month so can't be that bad?

You need to ask - 30 crickets per day / what size are the crickets.

That said, yes, Peppa and Toothless were indeed eating up to 30 x 1/3 sized crickets per day spread over 2 live meals EACH per day at about 4 months old and were between 130 - 160g).

tizmegz · Mar 14, 2017

Ok well mine only weighs 15 g lol and they are small crickets it doesn't say anything else just small but they are not too big I just took all the sand out and put paper towel down for now also

tizmegz · Mar 21, 2017

Ok so he wasn't eating crickets that well it got to about 4 every other day or less so I just got some small Dubia online and he ate like 4 in under 5 mins which is great so I have ordered some more of those and I also ordered some wax worms as an occasional treat to fatten him up hope he likes them. The dubia are more exspensive but worth it I think as they have more nutrients and he seems to like them more I am getting them online as pet stores around here are a bit limited as to what they sell mostly crix locusts and meal worms hopefully I can figure out how many he is gonna eat over a week or two and order in bulk so it's a little cheaper does any one else have any experience with beardies and Dubai roaches how many do they eat etc vs age of dragon mines only small. thanks

Rankins · Mar 24, 2017

Rankin's photo for comparison. Easiest way to tell, rankins don't have beards. They have a bowtie pattern on their backs.
[ximg]85426 5587123004[/ximg]

MisterD83 · Mar 29, 2017

Yeah, you have a baby bearded dragon. My beardie, that I named Dragon, looked much like yours when she was a hatchling. She was also super picky about her live food and wouldn't touch greens for 2 years. The way I decided that Dragon had enough to eat was through her eating patterns and by the size of the food compared to her torso. If yours is eating agressivly then I'd suspect he or she is very hungry still.

SpacialCoogs · Mar 29, 2017

Rankins":b9f22w0i said:
Rankin's photo for comparison. Easiest way to tell, rankins don't have beards. They have a bowtie pattern on their backs.
[ximg]85426 5587123004[/ximg]

That's a great and simple explanation.

tizmegz · Mar 30, 2017

Ok thanks yes definitely a beardie then I am almost certain it's a girl I couldn't tell at first she is eating a lot better on the roaches now eats nearly everyday like 8 or so and sometimes a few wax worms too but I am going to slow it down on the wax worms now she was looking so skinny before and now looks chubby lol I weighed her again and she was 20g so she has put on 5g in a week I don't know if that is a good growth rate but I'm a lot less worried now and the pooing is also more often thanks for all the help I will put up a new pic

tizmegz · Mar 30, 2017

Like 1 and half weeks ago really skinny trying hard to get her to eat crickets

.
Now this was yesterday 5g heavier eating dubias and wax worms looking a lot healthier

Bearded dragon or rankin dragon?

tizmegz

Member

tizmegz

Member

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko

tizmegz

Member

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko

tizmegz

Member

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko

tizmegz

Member

tizmegz

Member

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member

MisterD83

Member

SpacialCoogs

Sub-Adult Member

tizmegz

Member

tizmegz

Member

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

Forum statistics

Share this page